 Daily news from the Canaries and the islands' biggest English language newspaper on-line  |  |    |
 Local, regional and national sports news Boxing Fists Now for the Executioner It was a fantastic win for the Welsh Dragon in front of his home crowd of more than 50,000 fans in the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, and a do-or-die fight for him which may sound like an odd statement to make considering that he was a fighter who was unbeaten in 43 fights and was the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world already, as a result of his scintillating win over the American favourite Jeff Lacy in March 2006.  I have also often been frustrated over the years at the number of times Joe would pull out of fights and his reluctance to leave home bases, while all the time making noises about his desire to fight the best American fighters in America. It most probably wasn’t all Joe’s fault, but I didn’t have to like it! Then he was matched with Kessler, the number one contender for Calzaghe’s position as the top super middleweight in the world. I had seen the Dane fight on a number of occasions and had been impressed with his strength and punching ability with both fists, and his refined range of boxing skills. He was also a fighter who had travelled to meet and beat boxers who most thought Calzaghe should have fought, but didn’t. I thought, if Joe can do a job on Kessler, then I’ll be a believer. He certainly did – and I am! After unifying the title belts with his win against Kessler, Calzaghe became hot property for American fight broadcasters HBO, and it wasn’t long before the world light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins was making noises, insisting that Calzaghe must travel to America to prove himself as one of the boxing greats, stating, “I have no interest in going to Wales. Why do I have to go? He has to bring his butt here to fight the living legend Bernard Hopkins. We know you can do well in Britain, but step out of your neighbourhood”. In early December, Joe Calzaghe finally received the national recognition he had long craved for, when relieving the Dane, Mikkel Kessler, of his WBA and WBC world title belts, to go along with his own WBO belt which he has held for ten years. That’s just what Calzaghe will do, when on 19th April, he will step into a ring in Las Vegas to face the Executioner, as Hopkins is known. At 43, Hopkins, who in his younger days served almost five years in prison for strong-arm robbery, only started to reap the fruits of turning around his life a few years ago. Raised in the ghettos of Philadelphia, Hopkins, even when he was a world middleweight champion and particularly in the early part of his long record-breaking reign was angered and frustrated at being one of the hottest commodities around without a name, due to his well chronicled outbursts at the injustices of the boxing game, his harsh words against the boxing establishment, his bitterness because he felt his talents for too long were not getting their proper financial compensation, the years of being avoided and ignored for his high-risk, low-reward image. During that time he was involved in a bitter lawsuit to get free from his promoter Butch Lewis and stated, “I’ve been through so much. How can I fear any man when I’ve been involved, year after year, month after month, with killers, con artists and rapists for 56 months when in prison? You think I’m going to be intimidated by a guy with a bow tie and shirt on?” Hopkins hates the rip-off and he knows in boxing the sharks are everywhere. He understands how the game is played and worries about his fellow boxers. He sees many of them isolated by unscrupulous managers and promoters bent on exploitation, which is obviously one of the reasons why he joined up recently with three other ‘greats’ of the ring, Oscar De La Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera and Shane Mosley to form Golden Boy Promotions, a company built by the fighters for the fans. Their principles are fighters’ and they understand the need of fighters to stay active and their commitment towards them is to maximise their earnings and potential and get them a square deal. Boxing writers love Hopkins because he fills their notebooks in a hurry. But they’ve got to be ready because words pour out of him and pour over them like a tidal wave. It’s never a question and answer session, as Hopkins is like a preacher delivering a sermon. I recall being in New York in 2001 and witnessing the crowds of mourners silently filing along the pavements at one end of Broadway, with their mouths wide open as they got their first glimpse of the mountain of twisted metal which was all that was left of the World Trade Centre. At the time, a unification fight for the undisputed world middleweight championship between Bernard Hopkins and the unbeaten hot favourite Felix Trinidad was due to take place at the famous Maddison Square Garden, yet the feeling of many people was that the return of boxing was too early after the disaster. However, they carried on with the promotion and leading up to the fight Hopkins was up to his usual tricks of bad-mouthing his opponent with insults that were seen as uncalled for, even by boxing standards. His inflammatory language and his racial remarks about Trinidad, a Puerto Rican, had upset many, and he had on two occasions thrown a Puerto Rican flag to the ground. The second time he did it at a press conference in San Juan and nearly got himself killed. He had even likened Trinidad and his fans to terrorists. When Trinidad made his way to ringside, the majority of the 20,000 crowd raised the roof screaming, “Tito – Tito”, for they had every reason to despise Hopkins and it wasn’t necessary to have been of Puerto Rican descent to have felt that certain elements of Hopkins’ pre-fight psyche job were at best, insensitive. However, during the contest he put on such a devastating performance to give Trinidad a boxing lesson, that the predominantly Latin and overwhelmingly pro-Trinidad crowd set aside its deep disappointment and started to applaud a truly great performance by Hopkins, who finally stopped his opponent in the 12th and final round. Since then he has stopped the great Oscar De La Hoya, jumped two weight divisions to conquer Antonio Tarver to place him at the top of the light heavyweight division and last year beat the excellent Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright to claim his 48th win in his career. Hopkins has been one of the best fighters ever. Inside and outside he’s difficult to beat and is classed as one of the great middleweights of our time, no matter what happens from this point on. Both Hopkins and Calzaghe are sport’s best adverts for middle age and they’ll both enter the ring in great physical condition, but as Hopkins is past his best at 43 and Calzaghe appearing to be in his prime at 36, I have no doubt that the Welshman will punch too fast, too hard and too often for the Executioner, who has been known to enter the ring in a leather hood covering his face, and wielding an axe. He might need more than that, for I can’t see an unfavourable outcome for Calzaghe in this fight!
| Canary Islands - 17.05.2012 - Today sees a return to the weather normally associated with the month of May in the Canaries, following the week-long heatwave. more... Tenerife - 17.05.2012 - The cancellation yesterday of the massive Rock Coast Festival in Tenerife just a week before it was due to begin has sparked a furious public outcry. more... Las Palmas - 16.05.2012 - Rock legend Bruce Springsteen delighted almost 30,000 fans at his concert last night in the football stadium in Las Palmas. more... Masca - 16.05.2012 - Criticism of foolhardy tourists dominate the media again today after another dramatic rescue, this time in the Barranco de Masca area. more... Tenerife - 16.05.2012 - Two earthquakes felt yesterday evening in several parts of Tenerife and Gran Canaria have surprised geologists, who had not detected any unusual movements in the hours leading up to them. more...    The launch of international fashion heavyweight Zara’s three-storey Fifth Avenue store in New York recently also saw the unveiling of the brand’s new architectural and interior concept. more...   | Elektrische Zigarette Neue Geschmacksrichtungen als gefüllte Depots für die Elektrische Zigarette www.elektrische-zigarette.eu Holiday car Tenerife We have been in the rent a car business since 1976 in Tenerife. Our experience - your advantage. www.hermanns-cars.com Electronic Cigarette The Electronic Cigarette SLIM is recommended for smokers with few consume, occasional smokers and to go. www.liquid-shop.eu Real Estate Tenerife Tenerife Real Estate is your partner on Tenerife for penthouses, properties, fincas or business-pubs for the purchase and sale of villas, chalets, houses, appartements. www.teneriffa-immobilien.es ic media group |
